Copyholder and bookholder and line follower



Oct. 7, 1952 H. B. ABBOTT 2,612,866

COFYHOLDER AND BOOKHOLDER AND LINE FOLLOWER Filed Aug. 5, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOR 8/ I la ltwm 6442f! 5. 1455077- BY W ATTORNEYS Oct. 7, 1952 H. B. ABBOTT COPYHOLDER AND BOOKHOLDER AND LINE FOLLOWER 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Aug. 3, 1951 I INVENTOR ATTORNEYS E ///4Z[Z B.

Patented Oct. 7, 1952 UNITED STATES P TENroFFIcE COPYHOLDER AND BOOKHOLDER AND" LINEFOLLOWER Hazel Abbott, Wasington, D. C. application August 3, 1951, serial No. 240,231

3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved device for holding a sheet or sheets of paper from which matter written thereon is to be copied or which may be used as a book rest for supporting a book in such position that the book may be conveniently read, the said holder having associated with it a line guide so mounted that it extends across the holder and may be shifted downwardly from one line of writing to another while copying or reading.

Devices of this character are now in use but they are heavy and inconvenient to use and in addition occupy a relatively large amount of space when not in use. It is, therefore, one ob ject of the invention to provide .a support or holder which may be formed of cardboard, or other suitable sheet material, which is of light weight, theholder or support being of such construction that its prop may be folded close against the rear face of thejholder and the holder thus reduced to a minimum overall thickness when not in use.

Another object of the invention is'to so form the holder or support that the prop has a portion serving as a brace for thepronandj'so formed and so mounted that it serves to retain the prop in its correct angular relationto the body portion of the holder when the device is in use and also serves as a ledge projecting forwardly from the body in position to allow a book or a number of sheets of paper being read to rest thereon.

Another object of the invention is to provide a support or holder having a line follower which is detachably mounted across the body portion of the holder and has frictional gripping engagement with a side edge portion thereof so that it may be slid along the body and remain in an adjusted position.

Still another object of the invention is to pro.- vide a support or holder of this character which is of simple construction and may be manufactured at low cost.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view looking at the back of the improved support or holder and showing its prop swung away from its flatv body;

Figure 2 is a perspective view looking at the front of the improved support or holder;

Figure 3 is a side view showing the device in position for use, a book being indicated in place thereon by dotted lines; 1

Figure 4 is a'front elevation of the'improved device;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view, taken along the line 55 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view, taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure '1v 'is a sectional view taken along the line 1-1 of Figure 5; v r

Figure 8 .is a sectional view, taken along the line 88 ofFigure 4;

Figure 9 is a sectional view, taken along the line 9-9 of Figure 4; and

Figure 10 is a vertical sectional view showing the prop in its folded position close against the rear face of the body.

This improved support orlholder for books or sheets of paper hasabody I which is formed from a fiat sheet of cardboard, or other suitable material, and of such length and width that it may serve as a backing for abook or for paper of letter size or legal size. The lower end portion of the stiff :body is formed withftransr versely extending slots 2 and '3, theslot 3 beingof less length than the slot 2 and disposedin wardlyprojectingend portions or arms 5, This reinforcement 4 is firmly glued against the rear surface ofj the lowerv end of the body andits end'portions 5 project upwardly and cover the bodil between ends of the slot 2 of side e'dgesof the body, The length of the arms 5 issuchthat they extend above ends of the slot 2 and the'up per edge of'the reinforcing stripextendsalong the lower edge of the slot 3. Therefore, the low-'-- er' portion of the body is very effectively reinforced and prevented from becoming cracked or torn.

In order 'tohold the flat body in amused and rearwardly inclined position, there has been provi'ded a prop 6 whicli'is also formed of cardboard; I and. has its Upper end hingedly connected with the rear face of the body by a hinge I. This hinge may be formed of gummed fabric or tough paper or cellophane havingv an adhesive surface and consists of inner andOhter plies, 8 and Shave I ing portions adheringly engaged with the-rear face of the body andinnerand outer surfaces" of the prop and-between the propand the'body hav M mg portionsadhering to each other so that the 3 upper end edge of the prop is spaced from the body a suificient distance to allow the brace Ill for the prop and a tongue II to be folded upwardly and disposed between the prop and the rear face of the body in the vertical position shown in Figure 10. The brace I is hinged to the lower end of the prop 6 by a hinge I2 formed of the same kind of flexible material as the hinge I but only consisting'of one layer and the lip H is connected with the front edge of the brace by a hinge I 3 also formed of the same kind of material as the hinges 1 and II.

The upper portion of the prop is reduced in width so that it is spaced well away from side edges of the body and the forward portion of the brace I 0 has diagonally out side edges so that this front portion of the brace is tapered and the brace has limited forward movement through the slot 2 through which it is passed when the device is set up for use. After the front end portion of the brace has been passed forwardly through slot 2, the lip II is turned downwardly to a position at a rearward incline and a tongue l4 passed rearwardly through the slot 3. This tongue which is of less length than the lip H has its end edges cut diagonally so that the tongue is of a dovetailed formation. Therefore, the tongue will not be liable to acoidently slip forwardly out of the slot 3. By so forming the prop and its brace, the prop may .be easily and quickly swun rearwardly from the folded position shown in Figure and the brace l0 passed forwardly through the slot 2 and its lip II then turned downwardly and the tongue I 4 passed rearwardly through the slot 3. The brace will thus be held against rearward movement and the prop held at such an angle that the body will be maintained at a rearward incline.

Since the front end portion of the brace l0 protrudes forwardly from the lower end of the body, this forwardly projecting portion will serve as a book rest for engaging under the lower end of the book B and supporting the book in front of the body. A stack of manuscript, or the like, which is to be copied may also be set at rest upon the protruding forward portion of the brace. If a single sheet of paper 'or a few sheets are to be read or copied, upper end portions thereof are engaged under front arms of resilient clips [5 which are'formed of resilient metal and are mounted in straddling engagement with the upper end portion of the'body. The clips may be formed as a unit and have theirrear arms connected by a bridging bar or they may be formed separate from each other.v The front arms of the clips have their lower end portions flattened and bent forwardly so, that they project from the front surface of the. body and OOH? stitute bills I 6 by means of whichsheets of paper will be guided into place under the front .arms without tearing the paper.

When a book supported upon the holder or easel is being read or a paper being copied, it is desired to keep track of the lines as they are read or copied. In order to do so, there has been provided a strip or bar [1 formed of flexible material having suflicient resiliency to allow it to be normally disposed close to the frontface of the flat body while at the same time allowing it to be flexed forwardly away from the body. This bar or strip extends across the body transversely thereof and one end portion is mounted upon a clip I8 slit longitudinally from one end, as shown at [9, to form jaws 20 and'2l between which a side edge portion of the body is gripped when the clip is thrust into engagement with the body and the said side edge portion of the body is engaged in the slit 19. By grasping the lip or fingerhold 22 projecting from the outer or rear end of the clip, a firm grasp upon the clip may be obtained and the clip easily slid along the body. Therefore, the line follower or guide may be shifted along. the body from one line of writing to another and the writing read or copied without likelihood of skipping a line while doing so.

When the line follower is applied to the body, the rear jaw 20 of its clip is disposed between the body and a strip 23 spaced from the rear face of the body by blocks 24 which are secured to the body. The strip 23 is disposed at such an incline relative to the body that the jaw 20 will be closely confined between the body and the strip and frictionally held in an adjusted position. The material from which the bar I! and the clip are formed have suflicient flexibility and resiliency to allow the clip to be tilted and the bar swung away from the body a sufficient distance to allow thebar to overlay a sheet of paper or a book and extend along the lower edge of a line of writing or printing being read or copied. If a book is being read, it may be closed with the bar extending across a page and then serve to hold the book' against the device and not only identify the page, but also the page and the line last read. When the sheet of paper or the book is removed from the device, the prop and its brace may be moved to the folded position shown in Figure 10 and it will then be reduced to a minimum thickness and may be put away until again needed and occupy a small amount of space.

From the foregoing description of the construction of my improved device, the application thereof to use and the operation of same will be readily understood, and it will be seen that I have provided a comparatively simple, inexpensive and efiicient means for carrying out the various objects of the invention.

While I have particularly described the elements bestadapted to perform the functions set forth, it is apparent that various changes in form, proportion and in the minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the principles of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a flat body of sheet material formed close to its lower end with upper and lower transversely extending slots, a prop back of said body formed of sheet material and having its upper end hingedly connected with the body for swinging movement away from the body to a rearwardly inclined operative position, a brace for said prop formed of sheet material and hinged at its rear end to the lower edge of said prop for downward movement from a folded position close against the front face of the prop to a lowered forwardly extending operative position, said brace having its forward portion gradually reduced in width and providing a wedge shaped portion adapting it to be passedforwardly through the upper slot and have wedging fit therein with a portion protruding forwardly from the body and constituting a book-supportingmember, a lip formed of sheet material hinged along its upper edge to the front edge of said brace and foldable downwardly after being passed through the upper slot and disposed in a depending position at a rearward incline towards the front face of the body, and a tongue integral with said lip extending from the lower end thereof and of a width adapting it to be passed inwardly through the lower slot.

2. A device of the character described comprising a body of sheet material formed adjacent its lower end with transversely extending upper and lower slots, a prop back of said body formed of sheet material and hinged at its upper end to the body for movement from a folded position close to the body to a rearwardly inclined operative position, a brace formed of sheet material hinged to the lower edge of said prop and movable from an upturned folded position against the front surface of said prop to a lowered forwardly extending operative position and when in the operative position having its forward portion passing forwardly through the upper slot, a lip hinged along the front edge of said brace and movable from a folded position against the under face of the brace to an extended position flush with the brace for passage through the upper slot and to 2. depending position to a rearward incline in front of said body, and a tongue carried by said lip along the free edge thereof and passed rearwardly through the lower slot and holding the brace against rearward movement with its front end portion projecting forwardly from the body and constituting a book rest.

3. A device of the character described comprising a flat cardboard body formed close to its lower 6 end with upper and lower slots having ends spaced from opposite side edges of the body, a reinforcing strip extending transversely of said body and adheringly secured against the body between the lower slot and the lower edge of the body and at its opposite ends carrying upwardly projecting portions adheringly secured against the body between side edge of the body and ends of the slots and having their upper ends terminating above the upper slot, a prop pivoted to the rear surface of said body, a brace for said prop extending forwardly therefrom in an operative position with its front end passing through the upper slot, and a lip carried by the front end of said brace and having a portion removably passed rearwardly through the lower slot.

HAZEL B. ABBOTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 289,195 Weinschenk Nov. 27, 1883 704,119 Ryden July 8, 1902 1,692,748 Locke Nov. 20, 1920 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 45,280 Switzerland Sept. 3. 1908 

